Medco exports crude to Mitsui

Local private oil company PT Medco Energy International has been ready to supply 5.5 million barrels per annum to Mitsui Corp. of Japan through state oil firm Pertamina, based on their long-term crude export contract.

Medco Energy International president John Sadrakh Karamoy said that Medco would export the crude in a long term basis to trading company Mitsuit starting Jan. 1, 2001.

"Since 2001, we will make a long term crude sales contract with Mitsui that will be valid for five-year period," he said. "We are currently on a one-year trial of crude export to Mitsui."

For the initial step, Karamoy said, Medco exported 15,000 barrels of crude per day (bpd) to Mitsui, or 5.5 million barrels of crude per annum.

Currently Medco produced around 74,000 bpd of crude, ranking third after Caltex Pacific Indonesia and YPF Maxus. But Medco ranks first among locally-owned oil company.

Meanwhile the spokesman for PT Exspan Sumatra - a subsidiary of Medco -- Muhammad Imam Sujudi, said crude oil export to Mitsui was made possible after Medco met its domestic market obligation or DMO.

Sujudi added that the crude oil exported to Japan came mainly from Exspan Sumatera's oil fields in Kaji and Semoga, in Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatra.

With the direct export to Mitsui, Medco's crude oil port for exports would be shifted from Pertamina's domestic storage and marketing unit on Sambu island, Batam, Riau, to Teluk Bangka in South Sumatra.

Earlier, The chief executive officer (CEO) of Medco Holding, Hilmi Panigoro, said that the direct export of its crude to Japan would improve Medco's credit rating. (*)